Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Slips & Falls?

While your home is meant to keep you and your guests safe, accidents — like slipping and falling — can still happen to anyone. Fortunately, standard homeowners insurance can cover the medical bills incurred by a visitor who is accidentally injured on your property.

Your policy pays for your guest’s medical expenses under medical payments insurance. This coverage acts as a financial shield for injuries suffered by a visitor on your property, regardless of who is at fault. Coverage limits for medical payments are usually set at $1,000 to $5,000. If you have $1,000 in coverage and your guest’s medical bill exceeds that amount, you may need to pay the remaining balance out of pocket.

The medical payments coverage in homeowners insurance covers slips and falls that happen to guests on your property. It covers their injuries sustained from the accident, regardless of whether or not you are at fault. Below are a few examples of when homeowners insurance medical payments coverage applies to slips and falls, up to policy limits.

Your homeowners insurance also covers slips and falls that happen to any employee in your household. For example, if your housekeeper tripped over a tree stump in your backyard, your policy’s medical payments coverage can pay for the cost of their medical bills.

Whether your homeowners insurance covers slips and falls or not depends on the injured person. Keep in mind that the medical payments coverage in your policy only applies to visitors and household employees. That means you or any permanent member of your household do not have coverage if you slip and fall in your residence — health insurance pays your expenses. Additionally, your homeowners insurance policy won’t cover slips and falls if they happen on uninsured premises.

The best homeowners insurance can act as a financial safety net for accidents, such as slips and falls, that occur on your property. However, it’s better to prevent certain perils from happening in the first place. Taking some safety precautions like securing rugs and cleaning up spills can help in reducing the risk of slip-and-fall accidents.

You can get homeowners insurance from most major insurance companies, such as State Farm and Progressive. Likewise, smaller companies like Hippo offer financial protection for your residence.

When it comes to shopping for homeowners insurance, it’s best to compare quotes from different providers to get the best option for your needs. The average cost of a homeowners policy is around $175 monthly, but your rate may differ depending on the value of your personal property.

You can use MoneyGeek’s personal property calculator below to get an idea of how much you’ll need to pay for coverage.